photo:dslrsprosports
professional sports / journalistic dSLRs
introduction
the pro sports camera is a highly competitive race dominated by Canon and Nikon
the cameras are built-like tanks, weatherproofed and optimised for shooting fast moving subjects at fast burst rates.
in 2011, HD video has become a much higher priority, along with improved AF which had been problematic and complex to optomise in the previous models. The new models incorporate a vastly increased metering module which is now able to perform face recognition and assist in subject tracking during phase contrast AF.
interestingly, both Canon and Nikon have kept sensor megapixels counts down to allow improved burst rates and improved high ISO image quality.
Canon appear to have dropped its 1.3x crop sensors in favor of full frame sensors for its pro sports dSLRs and this will mean the pros will have less telephoto reach than previously, but perhaps the biggest contention with the Canon 1DX is the inability to autofocus with lenses at f/8 (ie. a f/4 lens with 2x teleconverter will no longer AF unlike on previous models).
Nikon's response to the Canon 1DX is their Nikon D4 which finally brings decent HD video to Nikon dSLRs, and almost matches the 1DX on most of the important features.
in late 2014, Canon revised their 7D to give much improved sports capabilities - see
Canon 7D Mark II dSLR
comparison of the latest versions
feature | Canon 1D Mark III | Canon 1D Mark IV | Canon 1DX | Nikon D3s | Nikon D4 |
year | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2009 | 2012 |
price | disc. | | $6800 | | $6200 |
crop factor | 1.3x | 1.3x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x |
mpixels | 10.0mp | 16.1mp | 18.1mp | 12.1mp | 16.2mp |
processor | Digic 3 | Digic 4 | Dual Digic 5+ and Digic 4 metering | Expeed | Expeed 3 |
flash sync | 1/300th | 1/300th | | 1/250th | 1/250th |
ISO | 100-6400 | 100-102,400 | 100-204,800 | 200-102,400 | 100-204,800 |
metering | | | 100,000px, face recognition, subject tracking | 1005px | 91,000px, face recognition, subject tracking |
AF points | 45 | 45 | 61 | 51 | 51 |
Max f/ratio for AF | f/8 | f/8 | f/8 (21cross) | f/8 | f/8 (1cross,10horiz) |
burst rate | 10fps | 10fps | 12-14fps (mirror lockup for 14fps) | 9 (x43shots) -11fps | 9-11fps (x105shots at 10fps if XQD card) |
shutter rating | 150K | 300K | 400K | | 400K |
AE bracketing | x3 at 1/3, 1/2EV | x3 at 1/3, 1/2EV | x2,3,5,7 at 1/3,1/2EV | x2,3,5,7 at 1/3,1/2,2/3,1EV | x2,3,5,7 at 1/3,1/2,2/3EV |
exp. compensation | | ±3 EV | ±5 EV | ±5 EV | ±5 EV |
storage | CF,SD | CF,SD | CFx2 | CFx2 | CF, XQD |
timelapse | wired | wired | wired | yes | yes |
GPS | no | no | opt | opt | opt |
video formats | none | 1080p (30/25/24);720p (60/50) | 1080p (30/25/24);720p (60/50) | 720p (24) mjpeg | 1080p (30/25/24) 24mbps;720p (60/50/30,25) uncompressed HDMI-out |
video crop modes | n/a | 1.3x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.1x, 1.5x, 2.7x |
microphone | none | stereo | stereo | stereo | mono |
manual rec. volume | n/a | | yes | no | yes |
live video capture output | n/a | | yes | no | yes |
LANconnector | no | | yes | | yes |
features | | | multi-exp. mode; timecode embedded video | | illuminated buttons |
| | | auto-split 4Gb movies, 2 video compression options | | |
photo/dslrsprosports.txt · Last modified: 2014/09/17 22:56 by gary1